Hi all, just a test balloon, this is in the very early planning stages, but any help/advice will be appreciated. There is a good chance Mihoko, Hotaru, and I will be in Geneva for six days in late February early March. Then Mihoko has about ten days in Africa/Afghanistan, where Hotaru and I won't be joining. My thought is that I'd prefer not to fly back to Japan and spend ten days as single dad; rather see a bit more of Europe with Hotaru. So looking for suggestions and advice. I'd also seriously welcome either a travel partner or stopping off for a couple of days somewhere at a friend's home or something like that; just to break up the monotony of hotel life with a kid. Remember Hotaru is three and a half, so I don't want to pack too much in; and while she is an well behaved kid, she is still a kid and does need rest to remain well behaved. Looking forward to hearing ideas!

One can see a lot of europe in 10 days, but tghis usually involves rerally long train trips at night. How are you getting around? Are you rich enough to take a couple of flights? If so you should think about any two of Rome, Paris, and London. If not, them maybe an option to travel bit by bit across the top of Italy to Venice - say via Milan or Milan and Verona. Alternatively you could head down from Geneva to Lyon, Nimes, Avignon and Marseilles, but then that's all in france.

One can see a lot of europe in 10 days, but tghis usually involves rerally long train trips at night. How are you getting around? Are you rich enough to take a couple of flights? If so you should think about any two of Rome, Paris, and London. If not, them maybe an option to travel bit by bit across the top of Italy to Venice - say via Milan or Milan and Verona. Alternatively you could head down from Geneva to Lyon, Nimes, Avignon and Marseilles, but then that's all in france.

Thank you! The main issue is my daughter... we won't do the night trains. And we will be getting back to Geneva at least twice a year, for the next few, so I'm considering taking it really slow. Possibly just Paris and a two day trip to Versailles or adding Amsterdam as I have friends there. Alternatively, we might just head down to Florence for eight or nine days. Planning on using homes from Airbnb....

Not that I've been, but apparently both Bern and Basel are very lovely, compact and quaint. There are some amazing train journeys to be done in Switzerland.

Not that I've got children either, but I reckon Berlin would be a good place for big 'uns and little 'uns. It's got so much to do, and the public transport systems are terrific, plus it's not as expensive as London or Paris, and feels a little more...well....human.....

echolalia wrote: I despise Prefab Sprout. It will be decades before “hot dog, jumping frog, Albuquerque” is surpassed as the most terrible lyric in pop history. That fucking bastard ruined all three things for me forever.

Thanks for the suggestions... it looks to be Florence. Berlin, Amsterdam, and more northern places will be just a bit too cold... so it appears to be Geneva from Feb 28 until March 6, then Florence from the 6th until the 13th then Milan for an evening and a late flight home from Milan.